The National Museum of Natural History ( fil, Pambansang Museo ng Likas na Kasaysayan) is the national

natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is located along

Agrifina Circle The Agrifina Circle, officially the Teodoro F. Valencia Circle, is a traffic circle within the eastern portion of Rizal Park in Manila, the Philippines. Etymology The name "Agrifina" is a portmanteau of the words "Agriculture" and "Finance" sinc ...

Rizal Park Rizal Park ( fil, Liwasang Rizal, es, link=no, Parque Rizal), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an are ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

History

Agriculture and Commerce Building

The building was constructed as the Agriculture and Commerce Building in 1940. It was designed in a

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing sty ...

by Filipino Architect Antonio Toledo in the late 1930s, having the same dimensions and floor plan as its twin building located at the northern side of the circle, the Finance Building. Both buildings were destroyed in the Battle of Manila during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Both buildings were reconstructed according to the original plans after the war.

Department of Tourism

At some point in time, the building was occupied by the Department of Tourism (DOT), hence the building became known as the Department of Tourism Building up until 2015. DOT moved its offices to the nearby city of

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

and is planning to return to Manila after the completion of its proposed headquarters located in Intramuros.

National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum Act, which was passed in 1998, mandates the conversion of three civic buildings within Rizal Park, the Legislative Building, the Finance Building, and the Tourism Building, into museums. The Finance Building was the first to be repurposed. In 1998, the building was converted into the National Museum of Anthropology. The Legislative Building was converted into the National Museum of Fine Arts in 2000. The Tourism Building would later become the National Museum of Natural History. In 2013, preparations were commenced to have the building host the National Museum of Natural History. The

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas}) is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines including ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological, and vis ...

invited five architects to submit proposals for the retrofitting and chose the design of the team from Dominic Galicia Architects and interior designer Tina Periquet. Galicia's design involved the maintenance of the building's facade except for the addition of a glass dome supported by a double helix structure inspired by DNA. The dome and supporting structure was dubbed as the "Tree of Life" and will cover the courtyard of the six-storey building. The project, estimated to cost around , was initially scheduled to be completed in 2015 in time for the

2015 APEC Summit APEC Philippines 2015 was the year-long hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings which concluded with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held on 18–19 November 2015 in Pasay, Metro Manila. It was the second time the Phil ...

. A bidding for prospective contractors for the renovation of the building was done in September 2015. The National Museum of Natural History was officially inaugurated on September 30, 2017. A grand opening for the museum was expected in the later quarter of 2017. The museum opened on May 18, 2018.

Gallery

File:Tarsier (Inside Philippine National Museum of Natural History).jpg,

Tarsier Tarsiers ( ) are haplorhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all of its species living today are found in Maritime Southeas ...

File:Tamaraw (Inside Philippine National Museum of Natural History).jpg, Tamaraw File:Philippine Eagle (Inside Philippine National Museum of Natural History).jpg,

Philippine Eagle The Philippine eagle (''Pithecophaga jefferyi''), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae which is endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has br ...

File:9539National Museum of Natural History Manila 12.jpg, Ground level File:9649National Museum of Natural History Manila 10.jpg, Skeletal remains of Lolong File:12National Museum of Natural History Manila 46.jpg, A museum hallway File:9861National Museum of Natural History Manila 37.jpg, Lobby File:9539National Museum of Natural History Manila 02.jpg, Ramps File:61National Museum of Natural History Manila 07.jpg File:9713National Museum of Natural History Manila 09.jpg File:National Museum of Natural History view 2.jpg, View towards north-west.

References

{{Rizal Park National Museum of the Philippines Natural history Buildings and structures in Ermita